The Snakes Skin
by Ferrebee
Summary: The journal of Solid Snake, and his most deepest thoughts on his life. Just before MGS2. Somewhat Mature Dialouge, yadda yadda yadda, you know the deal.
1. Welcome to your new home

They say sometimes home is your best defense. I agree with that. Hal told me that this place would need some fixing up...I wonder how much it was to actually get this place. A 2 room apartment in the Bronx. Not too far from Manhattan or Queens.

As Hal unlocked the door to this new place, he assured me everything would be taken care of. As I entered after him, I smelt a faint trace of sanitation fluid. This was going to quickly turn into hell, if I didn't get my bearings straight. The faint sound of traffic outside brought me to the realization that I wasn't a merc anymore.

"Hal...," I said quietly, walking around, taking the entire apartment in. He moved in all of this stuff under my nose, and I was grateful. I was away in England when Hal called me and told me that he had leased an apartment. Now that I see what he's done, I'm proud of his accomplishment, though I don't really show it.

"Yes, David?," He replies with a tone of, "Yes, I know, its a surprise," assuring me that this is not a dream.

"...This is much better than that studio over in Stanton...," I replied with a hint of amusement. I could tell he was proud of his own accomplishment.

"Do you like it?" He asked meekly, expecting some sort of negative response. I went along with the joke and nodded. "Yeah. its horrible. I love it."

To both our amazement, we laughed.

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WEEK 1

As the sound of the garbage truck rumbles right outside my window, picking up the huge metal tub of refuse the people in this place leave behind, I start to wonder if my life was meant to be this way. Such a fitting end to a worrysome career. Hero of Shadow Moses, to a tenant of a lower-middle class apartment in the Bronx. Fit like a square peg in a round hole. Naturally, I sit up, pop the cartilage in my stiff neck, stretch my arms and legs, and stand up, putting a T-shirt on. It gets chilly in New York. Nothing like Alaska, though. Quietly, I move from my room, down the hallway, and into the kitchen, where I see Otacon sitting on the floor, laptop in his posession, quietly typing away with no end.

"Damn."

-"Hmm? Whats up, Snake?"

"You're still awake?"

Hal takes a break from typing to look at me. I see his eyes. Bloodshot, tired. Theres no way he can keep typing. He lets out a massive yawn, his voice dropping an octave as I watch him reply.

-"Mmmhmm...I'm almost done, though...I think I'll be asleep in 10."

"So no breakfast for you, then?" I asked curiously. The Hal I've known for the past few years has never missed a meal. I might be wrong, though.

-"Maybe...Donno if I can stay awake that long...If not, I'll be up sooner or later to get something to eat, then go back to sleep..."

"Sounds like me in high school..." I muttered.

-"Hey, I never knew..."

Another yawn.

-"...that you were in high school..." Hal closed his eyes for a moment, trying to clear them of the dreaded eye-crud that would cover ones eye after prolonged exposure to a single object. Another yawn, a few more blinks, and then another yawn, before Hal scratched the back of his head, stretched his arms and saved his work, before shutting the computer down.

-"Thats it...I'm callin it quits...I'll see you in a bit, Snake."

"Suit yourself, Otacon...," I said as he stumbed into his room.

"Damn...Guess I'm goin to the post office by myself after all."


	2. You owe me one Part 1

After breakfast, I walked into the bathroom, and took a quick shower, before heading back into my room to change. I quietly sifted through my drawer for boxer-briefs, socks, pants, undershirt and a button-up shirt. Naturally, I like the color black, and it shows in my clothing. I reached under my bed for my tennis shoes, and stuffed them on, lacing them up quick. I then picked up my wallet and cigs from the nightstand, along with my cell phone...

Yeah, Cellphone. I'm a normal yakker like everyone else. I try not to, but technology nowadays just seems so nifty. An old soldier does learn new tricks...

Anyway, I headed out to the post office on foot, just so I could scope out the sights, and enjoy a fresh cigarette. As I crossed the third block, I looked to the newsstand and stopped to read the headline:

"New president increases military budget, Liberals detest new policy"

-"Military budget increase..." I muttered quietly, as I reached into my pocket for my cellphone. I went into its nifty message application, and texted a note to myself, then locked it so it would be saved. I'd make a note of it later...

As I arrived at the post office, I stopped for another cigarette. As I brought the lighter up to my cancer stick, I was bumped by a female who was obviously carried away with parcels. She pardoned herself and moved on, but my eyes moved lower, past her neck, down below her waist...

I smiled somewhat as perversion took over me for a moment, before I finished my cigarette. I then walked inside and got down to business.

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"Name?" The clerk asked. I cleared my throat, pulled out my I.D, and gave a half-assed smile.

-"Ahem. Iriquois Plisskin," I answered. The ID had the same name, and the same picture I always used. The guy seemed un-impressed, but shrugged and said "Ok.". He then walked off to retrieve the package under my alias. Scant seconds later, he shows up with five large packages.

"Sign here, Mr. Plisskin..." The clerk said, tossing a pen onto the top of the counter. "Whatever the hell you're taking out, you gotta sign for 'em. You look like you're up to something, sir..."

"Antiques," I replied quickly as I set the boxes down, and reached over to sign. Immediately, the clerk took the clipboard away from me before the pen touched paper. This guy wanted to play Tommy-Tough-Nuts with me, I could see it from the look in his eyes. I looked at him with distaste while he looked at the parcel description.

"Hmm....yes....yes....okay. You can sign."

-"Thanks." I replied quickly. I wasted no time in signing, then taking my packages and scooting out of there.

I hailed a cab back to our place, and walked in the door with all five packages stacked on top of each other. Hal had gone out himself, and bought a television and a DVD player, with some old horror flicks. I know this because I saw the reciept on the coffee table when I first walked in. Either way, I shrugged and dropped the packages on the ground, announcing my presence. Hal peeked his head from the kitchen, then walked over to inspect the packages.

"This is it?" He questioned, looking at me as if I was holding out on him. Vehemently, I sighed and nodded.

"Yeah. This is all of it." With that, I reached over to the coffee table, where my M9 Bayonet lay in its sheath. I unsheathed the blade, and quickly cut the boxes open, while Hal tried to keep himself busy by unwrapping everything. The contents of each package, as listed on a sheet of paper are as follows:

1: X-32 Night Ops "Sneak" Suit

1: M9-SD Tranquilizer pistol w/ 60 tranquilizer rounds

2: combat boots, black

1: MOLLE (MOdular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment), black

1: Interceptor Body Armor, Black

2: IBA Ceramic Plates, Size Large

1: Note, titled "David"...

"Wait....a note...?" I thought quietly as I opened it.

"David,

You owe me one.

Mei-Ling"

I groaned softly, and facepalmed myself. Mei-Ling went to the trouble of getting my gear from a military Central Issue Facility. How? I don't want to know. But I owe her one, apparantly. Hal read the note and he smiled.

"You know what that means, right snake?" I curled my bottom lip and looked to him.

-"No. What?" Hal wouldn't wipe the smile from his face, and it was slightly irritating me. I raised an eyebrow to his response.

"She wants you to take her out to dinner, Dave."

-"What?! Wait a sec..." at this moment, Hal began to laugh in an obnoxious manner. I frowned and turned back to the list.

1: Jumpsuit, Olive Drab, Navy officer.

1: Book, titled "**In The Darkness Of Shadow Moses**" by Nastasha Romanenko. (She wasn't even there, and she wrote it better than I could ever remember it.)

-End of Contents-

Hal was still smirking after I finished my list, and I simply shook my head at him and smiled. "Hal, do you mind getting some beer for tonight? I'm in a drinking mood..." Hal nodded, and without a word, headed out for alcohol. I myself knew what my job was. Dinner. I snuck through the fridge, and with my nose, I whiffed the smell of frozen pork chops. They were still good, no doubt. Just...Burned by the cold. Either way, I thawed them out, and had just placed them on the skillet when Hal walked in with 3 cases of "Ol' Patriot" Beer, the cheapest kind our money could afford. It was the equivilent of buying champagne for us. Hal opened the fridge and wedged the beer in between us as he stuffed it the empty slots.

"Y'know, Mei Ling called me..." He said. Oh great. She's probably in town..."She's in town and-"

-"Damn it!" I said aloud. Hal smirked again as I flipped the pork chops on the skillet. I sighed and looked to my room.

"Does she want Italian....?"

-"Yes."

"Okay...Tell her 8:45...that'll give me 3 hours."


	3. Of Manifests and Worries

As I straightened out my tie, I lit a cigarette and puffed vehemently on it as I waited for Mei Ling to arrive. Hal was busy on his laptop, typing away at some sort of document. For a moment, I stopped smoking to read Hal's reports.

"Todays economy relies on not only stocks and markets, but also weapons development and arms exchanges. Weapons much like 'Operation Dark Geist', A development of a walking battle tank, capable of firing an ICBM developed completely with stealth technology. Weapons like this are a national security threat to the United States, as well as the rest of the world. It is because of this, I believe Philantrophy must be accepted as an environmental welfare interest group..."

Hal stopped typing for a moment to look up at me. His eyes were filled with a bright interest that I have only seen only twice before. Once at Shadow Moses, the other right when we got this apartment.

"You seem very busy with that report, Hal...is it about Nastasha's Idea?" Hal took off his glasses and nodded, wiping the lenses clean with a cloth rag.

-"Yes. We've decided to call it 'Philantrophy'. Nastasha says that the UN is looking into recognizing our efforts to stop nuclear proliferation, just as long as we give a reasonable explanation, and evidence to support our intent."

"Evidence...Wait a minute. Theres something planned in the future for us, isn't there..." My mind said that I was going to be doing some wetwork once again for Uncle Sam, a task I was very familiar with. It didn't bother me much, seeing as personally, I felt that this was needed. Hal could only nod once again. Before he could answer me, however, there was a knock on the door. Mei Ling.

-"Don't keep her waiting, Dave...Enjoy yourself, man." I could only nod and finish my cigarette,

before answering the door. Lo and behold, there she was, in all her teenage glory, nineteen and a second lieutenant in the US Navy. She greeted me with a smile and a warm hug, before we set out for dinner.

As we arrived at the resteraunt and took our seats at our table, Mei Ling smiled once again before she started to clear her throat.

"So, Dave, how've you been?" She asked quietly. I scratched my chin before answering, and allowed a smile to pass.

-"Ive been alright, I'm enjoying the new apartment Hal got for us, and I thank you for going to great lengths to getting me all that gear today..."

"Trust me, It was easier said than done. The reason why I wanted you here tonight was because I need to brief you on next month."

-"Whats going on next month?," I asked. My hunches were apparantly right. I was in score for some wetworks soon.

"Heres the thing. Pentagon got some manifests on some wierd cargo thats getting ready to be transported to South America. The crew is unknown at this time, but its scheduled to leave in 2 months at 0100 Hours Thursday morning. Next month is important because you need to verify the manifests, and the only way to do that is to infiltrate the docks, retrieve the manifests and confirm the date location..."

-"Right...So whats the catch..." I knew that there was always some kind of hold up with a mission that sounded as simple as this one.

"If there is one, I wouldn't have any knowledge of it, Dave...You'd have to find that out on your own. I'll do my best to keep you two informed. Until then, just be ready...So...lets eat."

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As I returned home with a lipstick stain on my cheek and a lighter wallet, I noticed my cellphone was vibrating. Quickly, I answered my phone.

"Nastasha. Whats with the call?" She didn't say hello, but rather only cut to the chase.

-"Snake...I had a bad feeling."

"I get those all the time, whats so different about yours?" I could hear the sound of her lighter striking the flint, most likely lighting a cigarette.

-"I don't know what it is, exactly, Snake. But just listen to me. We are stepping deep into unchartered waters. It would be best to tread lightly. I'm worried about our next plan of action, and I'm just hoping that we're moving in the right direction, that you're making the right choices, Snake..."

Something told me this was more than a warning. To her, it was a bit more personal, maybe. Regardless, I stated what was on my mind.

"Sounds like you care a lot for me," I said with a hint of sarcasm. She laughed, a sign that I was right. It was something more. But to prevent any kind of unneccessary tie-ups, I wouldn't venture deeper.

-"Just watch yourself. And be sure to upload the manifests once you get them." I smiled quietly to myself, and responded softly.

"Don't worry, I'll get it for you." With that, I hung up. Slowly, I dragged myself off to bed, and drifted away into a deep slumber. The slumber was filled with nightmares, but I rested enough to survive the next day.

As morning came, I stumbled out of bed and into the living room in my boxers, only to find Mei Ling curled up on the couch while Hal was still typing away on his laptop. I wasn't so much concerned about Hal, as I was about Mei Ling. I gave a grunt to Hal. He stopped typing and looked over to me, to which I nodded toward the sleeping giant, as she snored peacefully.

"Hotel room bad?", I asked quietly. Hal nodded in affirmation. I shrugged and squatted down to Mei Ling's face. She was still wearing the same makeup from last night. I owe her one anyway. Without her guidance back on Shadow Moses…I don't think I would be standing here. It was her wisdom and professionalism that boosted my morale when I was held prisoner. Silently, I nodded to myself, and walked back into my room to put on a pair of pants. I had to look somewhat civilized for our guest.

As I walked back out in jeans and a solid blue T-shirt, I strutted my way to the kitchen. I searched like a bear for food, and found to my great success, steaks that I had finished cooking the night prior to my date. I pulled them out of the fridge and placed them in the microwave. As the cooking plate rotated, I took the time to light a cigarette and look though the notes I had gathered. My notes? Zilch, at least for the moment. I had to find a way to get those manifests, and the only way I knew how, was to sneak in…

But I had to get back in shape for this kind of operation…


	4. Warming  Up

I can remember a period in my life where I listened to orders without question, acting like a robot, killing and taking what the government wanted.

After Zanzibar, I changed. My mentality was aimed toward repairing the damaged world that humanity had created. I went rogue. I felt like it would be worth doing to save this world. I still felt like I could do more after Shadow Moses. With what limited time I had left on this planet, I needed to make an impact.

Besides, I still felt like my life wasn't fulfilled yet.

After a grueling month of intense physical training, I shed the 10 pounds I had gained, and gotten back up to the same fitness level I was at during Shadow Moses. It was time to retrieve those manifests.

I checked my watch. 2359 Hours and 40 seconds. I checked my surroundings once again to see if I was still alone. The boats anchored to the docks swayed back and forth against the tide of the Potomac, the moon a slight sliver, with a heavy overcast. I managed to squat a bit lower behind the crate and peer around the corner to get a better look of the main office. I had to case the place before I decided to break in and retrieve the manifests I was searching for.

As I checked the perimeter, I noticed the security checkpoints down the small trail to the records office. There were three of them, with two guards in each. The road was lighted by streetlight, but that was the only illumination. As I looked towards the edges of the perimeter, there were a few roving officers with flashlights, all in all nothing too difficult. It would be a good warm-up for me.

I moved out from behind the crate and along the fence at 0000 Hours, My footsteps barely audible from the sound of tugboats blowing their horns and the waves crashing against the docks. I was perfectly concealed. I ran into my first hurdle. A lone guard was coming my way. I sidestepped the path of his flashlight and ducked behind another crate. As the ray of electric light danced away from me, I quickly hoofed it along the perimeter of the fence to the records office. I noticed the door was digitally padlocked, and I cursed slightly in frustration. I quickly set my CODEC to Otacons' frequency, and gave him a ring.

"Troubles, Snake?," He asked with a cheery tone. I grunted in response. Smartass.

"This door has a digital padlock. Think you can hack the system and unlock it?"

I took a quick look around to make sure I was still alone and would not be disturbed. Lucky for me, a lake-effect fog started to roll in, making me nearly invisible. Otacon gave a slightly thoughtful look as he punched a few keys on his computer.

-"I can do even better. This security system is last generation cybertechnology." He said with a grin.

"Which means…?" I prompted him to continue, stroking his ego.

-"I can give you all the access codes to doors, computer logins, and safe combinations. There. I just changed the pad's code to 3-1-4-6."

"What would I do without you Otacon," I said, honestly impressed. He then winked and cut comms. I quickly turned to the keypad and entered the code. The door unlocked. Open sesame.

As I stepped inside, I noticed the hallways were vacant and empty. Otacon then buzzed into my ear.

"Go up another floor, Snake. The room where the manifests are is to the left of the janitor's closet."

-"Thanks," I said through my teeth. I quickly moved upstairs, and checked the hallway. There was a light on down the hall, the sound of a World Cup game being played. Whoever was in there was obviously distracted by the bout. It wouldn't last forever, so I double-timed it as quietly as I could to my objective.

As I reached the door, I realized this one was locked by a key. I smiled somewhat, and pulled out a small lock picking kit. I placed one end inside of the top of the lock, disengaging the first tumbler. I then used the second tool to pry the lock and press down the other tumblers, unlocking the door. The lock tumbled into the door, granting easy access for me. I opened the door slowly, and walked into a room filled with filing cabinets.

"Whats the name of the cargo ship…." I muttered to myself. Hal had to chime in once again with the answer.

-"U.S.S Discovery. Serial number X2573. More than likely the manifests are organized alphabetically. Start from X."

"Yes, mother…." I said sarcastically. I then moved to the Filing cabinet marked "X".

I thumbed through the files, searching frantically for the serial number that matched.

"X2454….X2560…..X2573. Found you." I quickly opened the manila folder, spilling out its contents onto the desk. I then turned on the lamp so I could read the fine print. I leafed through sixty or so pages of personnel, cargo, destinations, refueling points, et Cetera. I then stopped at the net gross weight of the cargo on the ship, and looked to the summary of the manifest on the top. The weights didn't match. The summary was heavier than what was on the list. About 4 tons heavier.

I suddenly heard some commotion down the hall, a door had closed. The guard would be on the way towards the stairs to finish his rounds. I put the files back into the envelope and placed the envelope in my suit's inner pocket. I quickly turned out the light and closed the door, seeing the dancing bulb of the guards' flashlight coming towards me.

I booked it down the stairs and outside, jumping the fence separating the dock from the highway. As I ran down the road to the motorcycle I had stashed behind some bushes, I could see the moonlight coming out from behind the clouds. I hopped on the bike, turned the engine over and throttled it, speeding away as fast as I could.

As I walked in the door of our apartment, I noticed Hal watching something on the T.V. Cartoons to be exact. I sighed and tossed the manila envelope to Hal.

"Got it."

-"Nice work, Dave. What did you notice?"

"The weights don't match up. Summarized says 15 tons, but all the stuff on the cargo list says 10. So they're definitely hiding something."

"A Metal Gear, to be exact," I heard a voice behind me. Mei Ling was still here, relaxing a bit on the couch.

"So, you're still here," I said, a smile crossing my lips. She smiled and nodded, Rolling her neck in fatigue. "Next month, you're getting on that ship, Snake."

I had a queasy feeling about this….


End file.
